SLUICE ROOM EFFICIENCY
A range of data formats Data can be provided in the usual formats. PDFs look good for reporting and presentations, but spreadsheets enable fast filtering and data sorting. Estates and facilities managers can see very quickly which manufacturers and machines have enjoyed the best reliability record and provided excellent value for money. This enables smarter and better-value purchasing – maximising machine uptime, and providing superior protection against the risk of HCAIs. Filtering and sorting the data also enables EFM personnel to see more quickly which wards at their hospitals have experienced the most issues with their machines. This may indicate that the medical staff in those wards require further training to ensure that they are using the equipment correctly – improving machine uptime. In turn, this will also enable clinicians to work more safely and efficiently. Faster, better operation of sluice room machines allows staff to dedicate more time to other aspects of patient care. The spreadsheets and PDFs also make it
easier to produce detailed reports for Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections. Compliance becomes simpler and less time-consuming, assisting in the drive to attain or maintain the highest CQC ratings.
Reporting via an online portal All this detailed reporting can be made available via an online portal. This enables smarter real-time reporting. Users see the full information on repairs, call-outs, and reports, without the need to get in touch with an Account manager, and when they do wish to speak with their Account manager, they see the same precise information that DDC Dolphin team members are viewing on their system. Everyone is looking at the same picture at the same time, avoiding confusion and speeding up the process. FM teams can quickly grasp the challenges facing them and agree solutions to resolve them. They can swiftly approve maintenance or the replacement of capital assets, and then move on to their next task – secure in the knowledge that their Trust’s depth of defence against HCAIs will remain strong and resilient. DDC Dolphin’s online portal enables
FM teams to log in and view data ‘24/7’ from any location with a broadband connection or mobile signal. This means fewer meetings, less travel, more time saved, greater productivity – and a smaller carbon footprint. It’s another step forward in the NHS’s journey to reduce direct carbon emissions by 80% by 2028-2032, and to achieve Net Zero by 2040 (direct emissions) and 2045 (indirect emissions, such as those from suppliers). Aside from the obvious cost efficiencies, work/life, and environmental benefits, the online solution comes back to the vital issue of infection
The Hygenex Vacumatic assists users’ waste disposal process by sanitising and hermetically sealing dirty waste bags.
prevention and control. Working from home or elsewhere off site during a major COVID outbreak, or the annual ‘flu season, minimises the risks to patients and clinicians on the wards.
The true cost of sluice room machine breakdowns Medical pulp macerators and bedpan washer-disinfectors should be serviced twice a year. Planned preventative maintenance extends machine life – leveraging greater value from each unit – and reduces the risk of unplanned downtime. The typical life expectancy of a medical pulp macerator or bedpan washer-disinfector is usually 10 years, although some private sector operators choose to run their machines beyond this point. Fail to service a sluice room machine
correctly, and its lifespan may be cut to seven years. That in itself is wasteful, but unserviced or poorly/irregularly serviced machines can break down as many as three times a year. At best, this costs an average £2,100 per machine in call-out charges, labour, and spare parts – and that’s before you factor in the loss of productivity. Based on two shifts of four nurses per ward, the average cost of lost productivity is conservatively estimated to be £1,584 (based on three machine failures per year). At worst, a machine failure can result in an infection spreading in the hospital – harming patients and clinicians. Medical negligence compensation claims for HCAIs can run to £40,000. Even a minor claim for an HCAI-related illness can be as high as £3,000. Claims for sepsis – the body’s extreme
reaction to an infection – can cost millions of pounds. In January 2023, a young girl who had both arms and legs amputated after delayed diagnosis of meningococcal sepsis had a £39 m settlement approved in the High Court.
Dealing with downtime in the most efficient way Enhanced reporting is one thing – but what happens when a medical pulp
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macerator or bedpan washer-disinfector breaks down? Spreadsheets or PDFs – as useful as they are – won’t wave a magic wand over the machine and fix it – but there is another very cost- effective solution: DDC Dolphin operates a demonstration service. In certain circumstances, it may be possible for NHS Trusts (and large operators of multiple care homes) to request a medical pulp macerator on free trial. This enables them to evaluate machine performance, functionality, ease of use, and running costs, in the real world. Trusts can see how macerators such as the Pulpmatic Eco+ (the most environmentally friendly, economical and hygienic macerator on the market,) and the larger Uno and Ultima, outperform their existing machines. This free trial also applies to DDC Dolphin’s Panamatic bedpan washer-disinfectors.
From breakdown to opportunity So, what starts as a machine breakdown issue swiftly becomes an opportunity to improve infection prevention/control, save time and money, and reduce carbon emissions. It is also an opportunity to review other advanced waste disposal
Unserviced or poorly/irregularly serviced machines can break down as many as three times a year. At best, this costs an average £2,100 per machine in call-out charges, labour, and spare parts – and that’s before you factor in the loss of productivity
April 2023 Health Estate Journal 57
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